Morning briefing: Tel Aviv bombing complicates peace effort

Smoke rises after an Israeli strike in Gaza City, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012. A diplomatic push to end Israel’s nearly weeklong offensive in the Gaza Strip gained momentum Tuesday, with Egypt's president predicting that airstrikes would end within hours and Israel’s prime minister saying his country would be a “willing partner” to a cease-fire with the Islamic militant group Hamas.

A summary of what you need to know today, compiled by The Globe's news desk on Nov. 21, 2012

Tel Aviv bombing complicates peace effort

Hopes for a ceasefire appear far more elusive this morning after Tuesday's burst of optimism. While efforts continued to reach a formal agreement, a bomb blast in Tel Aviv that injured 10 people will undoubtedly complicate efforts to end the violence. The blast, quickly deemed a "terrorist attack" by Israeli authorities, was as swiftly praised by Hamas officials. "Palestinian factions will resort to all means in order to protect our Palestinian civilians in the absence of a world effort to stop the Israeli aggression," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Reuters.

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On the diplomatic front, U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, after talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has moved on to join ceasefire talks in Egypt. Here's our report from Globe staff in Ottawa, Cairo and Gaza. Join us here for our live coverage this morning.

For background on the militant religious group Hamas, check out The Globe's in-depth Inside Hamas video series.

Gambling bill to get spiked by Senate

Unanimous support in the House of Commons may not be enough to get the single-game betting bill through the upper house. Bill C-290 – which would make legal betting on single sports events – doesn't look to have the votes in the Tory-controlled Senate, The Globe's Bill Curry reports.

Conservatives want court to hang up on robo-call suit

Stephen Harper's Conservative party is asking that six lawsuits alleging misleading robo-calls election be tossed out in the absence of any witness testimony. The suits allege that harassing phone messages affected races from Yukon to Toronto in last year's federal election, The Globe's Steven Chase reports.

Pakistan man executed over Mumbai attack

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The last surviving member of a Pakistan terror squad who participated in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai has been quietly executed by India. Mohammed Ajimal Kasab – whose gun-toting image through the Mumbai train station was flashed around the world – was hung and buried in the prison grounds for his role in the attack which killed 166 people.

Church of England deals with defeat of women-bishops proposal

Leaders of the Anglican Church will hold an emergency meeting today to deal with the narrow defeat of a vote allow ordination of women bishops. The measure, which had widespread support among bishops but fell short with the laity, is a big blow to the incoming church head Bishop Justin Welby who supported the measure. Here's the report from The Globe's Paul Waldie in London.

Greece debt deal proves elusive

A 12-hour haggling session among Euro zone ministers failed to reach a deal that would open up vault once again for the debt-addled country, The Globe's Eric Reguly writes from Rome.

Plea possible in 'Internet black widow' case

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The woman known as the "Internet black widow" is scheduled to be in court Wednesday for a possible plea. Melissa Ann Weeks is charged with the attempted murder of her new husband, who became sick while on their honeymoon in North Sydney, N.S., in September. She has a criminal record that includes prison time for manslaughter in the death of a former husband as well as seven counts of theft from a Florida man she had met online. To read a previous story on the case by The Globe's Jane Taber click here.

World powers meet on Iran

Officials from six world powers are meeting in Brussels Wednesday to discuss a potential new round of talks with Iran on its nuclear program. The stakes in this latest attempt to resolve the decade-long standoff are high: Tehran is within months of being able to make the core of a nuclear warhead, according to a report last week from the UN nuclear agency. As well, Israel has threatened to bomb Iranian installations to slow nuclear capacity.

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